Hi Super Supporters,

On Wednesday I met with decision maker Boots. I went to meet two of their representatives at their headquarters in Nottingham to deliver the petition and discuss the campaign.

The meeting lasted two hours and during this time I spoke to them about the campaign, the unnecessary plastic content in their own brand period products, the avoidable impacts they are having, the ways that they can bring about change and why we must tackle and stop this at source.

They already stock a range of plastic-free tampons, pads and pantyliners and reusable cups in their stores, which is great, however I did raise the need for other reusable options to be available in store like cloth pads and period pants for those that don’t use insertable products like tampons or cups.

The representatives responded to the campaign positively and were very receptive to the suggestions and concerns that I raised. They spoke to me about the changes that they are looking to make, although I can’t share them all, I have the below quotes from Boots about three points that they are happy to share at this time:

• “We are committed to ensuring our Boots own brand range of period products are the most sustainable they can be, whilst keeping them at an affordable price for our customers (from 75p). We will continue to work on developments in this area and plan to launch some of these initiatives in the next 12 months.”  
• “In our continued search to offer sustainable alternatives, we are working with a number of organisations, including Forum for the Future, WRAP and INCPEN, to make sure we fully understand the impact of the decisions we make.  In this way we ensure that we are doing the right thing, not just for plastic, but for the environment as a whole.”
• “We are also committed to launching more sustainable formats in the Boots brand which we are working on at the moment. We really want to ensure we are offering something affordable, with the right information/education that offers people a great alternative.”

In addition, they have shared some points below from their development plan:

• Introducing ‘Do not flush’ logo on to the front of all Femcare packaging and adding to the packaging where technically possible
• Reducing/removing plastic on packaging where possible
• Reviewing plastic applicator tampons with a view to update to something more sustainable or remove from the range
• Investigating more sustainable products at affordable prices

They have also committed to an open dialogue and will keep me updated and informed of the changes that they are making as and when they happen. I am very pleased with how this meeting went, they are clearly open and willing to make changes.

I will be sure to keep you updated with news when it happens.

Thank you for all your continued support, the impacts that our campaign is having is incredible. Keep your eyes open for an update next week showing a way you can take action that is a little bit different!

Ella :)

@ella_daish #EndPeriodPlastic